All news posts from March 01, 2002 to March 31, 2002

Dozens of former African-American workers at Scientific Colors Inc.'s Rockdale, Illinois facility settled a lawsuit with the pigment company Wednesday. According to the initial complaint, minority employees were constantly harassed with racial slurs and graffiti while working for the company. Hangman's nooses were al

Wal-Mart must pay $1.27 million to the family of an Arkansas man who died after a pharmacist gave him the wrong medication. John Tucker died in September 1997 after taking Ziac, a high blood-pressure drug, instead of Zaroxolyn, a diuretic. A labeling mistake on the prescription bottle caused the fatal error. Fluid a

Ford Motor Company this week settled a reverse discrimination lawsuit filed by a white former employee who alleged he was passed over for promotion because of his race. John Kovacs, 36, a former manager in Ford's credit finance division, claimed the world's second-largest automaker followed a strict diversity program

Mercedes-Benz U.S.A will pay a Florida couple $2.25 million after a Federal jury ruled the automaker was responsible for injuries the man and wife sustained in a 1998 accident. Elwood and Norma Kaplan were driving outside of Naples when a Dodge Durango driven by Delwin J. Wohlgemuth crashed into the driver side door o

A jury ordered three former pharmacists at a Massachusetts hospital to pay $7.1 million to the family of a four-year-old boy who received an improper drug dosage months after his birth. Pharmacists at Children's Hospital in Boston failed to dilute the high-blood-pressure drug Enalaprilat in March 1997, mistakenly givi

Consumer watchdog group Public Citizen asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today to immediately remove the arthritis drug Arava from the market. Manufactured by Aventis Pharmaceuticals and approved in 1998, Arava, also known as Leflunomide, has been linked to dozens of cases of liver toxicity. At least

A California couple filed a lawsuit against the American Dental Association (ADA) last week alleging fillings contributed to their son's development of autism. Kathy Galeano, 37, claims mercury in her nine amalgam dental fillings caused her son, Daniel Galeano, to develop the neurological disorder during her pregnancy

A Pennsylvania jury awarded a mentally retarded 7-year-old boy $24 million this week in a medical malpractice case. Sheila Dunkle, who filed the lawsuit on her son Austin's behalf, alleged doctors at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown failed to properly resuscitate her child after he was born prematurely in September

After weeks of investigating the popular herbal supplement kava kava, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week that the substance may be linked to serious liver damage. Although more research is required to prove if kava kava actually causes symptoms of severe liver disease, the FDA issued the w

The European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) has begun an investigation of Abbott Laboratories' diet drug Meridia. Italian health officials, who suspended the sale of products containing sibutramine, the primary ingredient in Meridia, after fifty "adverse events" were associated with the drug, requested the review.

According to a new report presented at the Third European Breast Cancer Conference last week, birth control pills increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Dr. Merethe Kumle, an epidemiologist from the Institute of Community Medicine in Tromso, Norway, and several French and Swedish researchers followed 103

According to a new report released today by a British researcher, serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac and Paxil may increase a patient's risk of developing brain cancer. Professor John Gordon of Birmingham University reported in the online edition of the medical journal Blood that the class of drug

A new report published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) links Merck & Company's Vioxx to five cases of a nonbacterial type of meningitis. According to the FDA, several patients developed aseptic meningitis (inflammation of the covering around the brain and spinal cord) while using the arthritis drug. Th

An Oregon jury Friday ordered Philip Morris to pay $150 million to the family of a woman who died of lung cancer after smoking low-tar Merit cigarettes. Michele Schwarz died in 1999 at the age of 53. Plaintiff attorneys argued the tobacco company wrongly marketed its low-tar cigarettes as healthier than regular ones.

The well-publicized dog mauling trial of Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, two San Francisco attorneys charged in the death of Diane Whipple, ended yesterday afternoon when the jury convicted the couple on all five charges filed against them. The case began on January 26, 2001 when Bane, the couple's Presa Canarios, s

Fifteen minority workers filed a $7.4 billion race discrimination lawsuit this week against General Motors Corp. (GM), the world's largest automaker. The complaint alleges GM failed to stop employees from discriminating against minority workers at its truck assembly plant and truck engineering and development center i

In a case similar to the California dog mauling trial that ended yesterday, authorities charged a Wisconsin couple in the death of a ten-year-old girl brutally killed by six Rottweilers. Alicia Lynn Clark was visiting a friend on February 14 of this year when she was suddenly attacked by the animals. Her friend's mot

A California jury awarded $1 million last week to a woman who claimed she was fired after testifying for a coworker in a sexual harassment lawsuit. In 1994, the plaintiff testified that Kim Norman was sexually harassed while employed at Lawrenceville Livermore National Laboratory. After providing information that eve

The mother of a 2-year-old girl who died last August in Florida when she was accidentally left alone in a day-care center van has reached a settlement with the facility's insurance carrier. Guideone Insurance Co., which handles policies for the Abundant Life Academy of Learning, will pay Tekela Harris-Carter $1.5 mill

New York health officials are insisting that all six state hospitals that perform liver transplants re-examine their donation procedures within the next thirty days. The demand comes just weeks after State Health Commissioner Antonia Novello suspended Mount Sinai Hospital's live-patient partial liver donations for six

A California jury recently awarded $1.94 million to the family of woman killed by a Union City police officer. Authorities were called to the woman's address after receiving complaints of a disturbance. When the police arrived, the victim claimed she was armed with a handgun. The supervising officer fired shots thro

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately ban the anti-obesity drug Meridia, blaming it for twenty-nine deaths and hundreds of cases of serious side effects. In a petition filed with the FDA yesterday, Public Citizen described Meridia as "needlessly

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that it has suspended a Federal regulation requiring drug makers to test products for their effects on children. FDA officials say the requirement is now unnecessary due to a provision passed by Congress in 1997 that provides financial incentives to drug com

A New Jersey jury recently awarded $52.4 million to the family of a Consolidated Rail Corp. employee brutally killed in a train accident. Anthony Scarpello, 54, died in January 1999 when Van Ransdell, a fellow employee, accidentally backed a Conrail train into him. The train dragged Scarpello several feet before even

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), twenty-six cases of bacterial infections in patients who received musculoskeletal tissue grafts have been reported in the last four months. The CDC began investigating tissue donation procedures last November after Brian Lykins, 23, who had been i

Two patients in Britain taking the anti-obesity drug sibutramine died Friday. The drug is made by Abbott Laboratories and marketed under the name Reductil in Europe and Meridia in the United States. Britain's Department of Health also announced that 212 reports of "suspected adverse reactions have been received in as

According to two doctors from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, seven patients who took Lipokinetix, a dietary supplement for weight loss, have developed severe liver injuries. Drs. James D. Lewis and Brian L. Strom report in the April 16 Annals of Internal Medicine that the patients developed negative s

According to a new study conducted by researchers at the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, Federal securities class-action lawsuits are on the rise. Plaintiffs filed 327 suits in 2001, a sixty percent increase from the previous year. Typical settlements reached $25 million, up from the $8 mil

Sulzer Orthopedics Inc.'s $1 billion settlement proposal is "fair, adequate and reasonable," U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. O'Malley decided Wednesday. The company, which is a subsidiary of Switzerland's Sulzer Medica, offered the amount to settle thousands of lawsuits stemming from the recalls of the company's popul

Six Flags Inc. has settled a lawsuit with the family of a woman who died at its popular Arlington, Texas amusement park in 1999. Valeria Cartwright of Arkansas drowned on the Roaring Rapids water attraction when the raft she was riding on overturned. The grandparents of Cartwright's four-year-old daughter sued the th

A Florida man who says he suffered seizures and went into a coma after being exposed to malathion filed a lawsuit Friday against the chemical's manufacturer. Stanley J. Lupa III was surveying land in Tampa on June 14, 1997 when he was sprayed by a plane carrying the pesticide. Within two days of exposure, Lupa, 34, s

Several recent reports have suggested that mammography may not be as effective as medical experts claim. According to new evidence from four Swedish studies, though, the procedure significantly reduces breast cancer deaths. More than 245,000 women were followed for more than sixteen years in the studies. A woman's r

A man who developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos at his workplace settled a lawsuit with the office building's owner for $5 million. The plaintiff alleged Business Men's Assurance Company knew asbestos-laden dust that accumulated on the building's ceilings was harmful yet hid this information from employee

A man injured during a rock concert at Soldier Field in Chicago won a $2.6 million verdict Tuesday. Steven Chang slipped in a puddle of urine and water while using a restroom inside the stadium, breaking and disfiguring his left leg. During an emergency operation, doctors were forced to move his calf muscle above his

A Florida jury awarded $78 million yesterday to a woman who suffered brain injuries during treatment at a medical center. Henalori "Hena" McGee, 44, was admitted to Sand Lake Hospital in April 1998 suffering from severe abdominal pain. The physician's assistant who examined her failed to discover she was bleeding int

A Colorado jury awarded the victim of a road rage accident $1.1 million this week. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charles Gensler suffered severe head injuries when Anita Kleber's Chevy Lumina jumped a median and collided with Gensler's Suburban. Witnesses testified that Klebler, who was killed in the head-on crash, was

A sixteen-year-old boy who suffered traumatic brain injuries in an amusement park ride accident settled a lawsuit with the park owner for $750,000. While riding the "Orbitron," a popular whirling attraction, the boy's seatbelt became loose, causing him to strike his head several times against the metal railing surroun

According to a new study conducted by two Canadian researchers, cigarettes described as "Light" or "Ultra-Light" may not reduce the health risks of smoking. Drs. Richard W. Pollay and T. Dewhirst from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, claim tobacco companies, concerned that smokers would quit after eviden

The family of a man who died after his motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer settled with the semi driver's employer for $1 million. The twenty-six-year-old man was driving north on a Fresno, California highway when the tractor-trailer, heading south, attempted to make a U-turn, causing the man to crash into the

A Florida jury awarded a Jacksonville woman $1.75 million yesterday for injuries she sustained in an airbag related accident. Irene Tyson lost her left eye during a minor collision when the passenger-side airbag in the Ford Windstar her husband was driving inflated and struck her face. Plaintiff attorneys, who claime

A scaffold being used on the John Hancock Center in Chicago collapsed in high winds last Saturday, killing three women. Nanatta Cameron, Jill Semplinski-Nelson, and Melissa Cook were driving on a street outside the high rise when the scaffold fell, crushing their cars. Buildings Commissioner Mary Richardson-Lowry acc

In its effort to defend the United States against mad-cow disease, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to Tyson Foods Inc. after the company violated a major FDA rule instituted to keep the disorder out of the country. According to the FDA, Tyson failed to place "Do Not Feed to Cattle or Other

The New York Health Department revealed today that inadequate staffing at Mount Sinai Hospital contributed to the death of a fifty-seven-year-old man. When Mike Hurewitz died on January 13, three days after donating part of his liver to his ailing brother, officials with the state health commissioner's office opened a

A fifty-two year-old man who was prescribed celecoxib, also known as celebrex, died recently from an allergic reaction to the drug. French researchers from Hospital de Hautepierre, Strasbourg, described the case in last week's issue of The Lancet. The patient, currently unidentified, developed an angioedema, an aller

Rent-A-Center, the nation's largest rent-to-own company, has settled two sex-discrimination lawsuits filed by more than 5,000 former female employees. The plaintiffs alleged that female Rent-A-Center workers were terminated or denied deserving promotions because of their gender. The lawsuits also accused the Texas-ba

A California judge awarded a woman $8 million last week for injuries she suffered after being hit by a car in August 2000. Geri Rivard was taking a morning walk in Los Gatos, California when Blake Abacherli's car cut a corner and struck Rivard as she crossed the street. Rivard was thrown over forty feet, suffering se

Although it has been seven months since Bayer AG officially halted production of Baycol due to the alarming number of serious side effects associated with the drug, lawsuits are still being filed in court. Four former Baycol users who claim they suffered serious health problems after using the drug filed suit in state

A Mississippi Circuit Court judge has reduced a $100 million verdict in a case involving Johnson & Johnson's heartburn drug Propulsid. The former Propulsid users filed suit against the manufacturer of the drug, Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, alleging that Propulsid caused their serious heart

A Florida mother who claimed Ford Motor Company was responsible for injuries her child suffered in a car accident has reached a settlement with the automaker. Jamaal Walker's spine was crushed in 1996 after a driver ran a stop sign and collided with his mother's 1992 Aerostar. The six-year-old was left a quadriplegic

Japan's Olympus Optical Co. has announced another recall of more than 14,000 bronchoscopes. The decision comes less than two days after Johns Hopkins Hospital informed 415 patients that bronchoscopes made by Olympus' subsidiary, New York-based Olympus America, may have given them a rare, but fatal, lung infection. Ho

The families of victims killed in the 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Nova Scotia will not receive punitive damages according to a Federal judge's ruling. U.S. District Judge James T. Giles dismissed several hundred claims after determining that the crash is covered by the Death on the High Seas Act of 1920, whi

A jury has ordered Dorel Inc. of Quebec, formerly known as Cosco, to pay $10.5 million to a St. Louis family whose 2-year-old son suffered severe brain trauma in a tragic car accident. The jury ruled that Benjamin Uxa's injuries were due in part to a design flaw in the Cosco high-back booster seat the boy was riding i

According to a new report published by the General Accounting Office (GAO), many nursing homes fail to report instances of alleged physical elderly abuse and sexual abuse in a timely manner. Investigators claim many facilities across the nation often report allegations of abuse two to three days after they occur. The

Pharmaceutical maker Elan Corporation has permanently halted the development of its experimental Alzheimer's vaccine, AN-1792. Recently, clinical trials of the drug were suspended after four patients in France developed inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS). Researchers decided to permanently halt the vacc

A California jury awarded $6 million last week to a man who suffered major brain injuries after being hit by a truck while trying to escape two Rottweilers. The dogs were owned by the groundskeeper of the Rancho San Diego Golf Club. In 1998 Malaquias Avalos was jogging next to the course when the dogs gave chase. As

Italian researchers from the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche in Milan have linked the use of oral contraceptives (OC) with the development of focal nodular hyperplasia, a frequently benign liver tumor found mainly in women. Doctors involved in the study, which was published in the February issue of the American Jo

An Illinois jury awarded the family of a Waukegan man $4.1 million this week in a medical malpractice case. Valentin Rodriguez, 75, was taken to Victory Memorial Hospital in March 1998 complaining of severe abdominal pain. The physician attending the emergency room, Dr. Richard Viglione, diagnosed Rodriguez as suffer

Polo Ralph Lauren, the fashionable apparel company that caters to wealthy clients, was accused of racial discrimination in a lawsuit filed this week by two ex-employees. Henry Williams, an African American, and Gerardeen Benedict, a Filipino, claim Polo awards less qualified white, blond haired employees better promot

Nuclear weapons were designed to protect Americans by deterring foreign enemies from initiating attacks on U.S. soil. But according to a new government study, development of the weapons of mass destruction may have had a different effect. Yesterday, Senator Tom Harkin released the first part of a government report, w